The NCUA has released a new economic update on the regulator's YouTube channel. Chief Economist John Worth's two-part segment posted Monday features an overview of key economic indicators and the NCUA's recently proposed derivatives rule.

Worth's economic analysis covers rising interest rates and the resulting challenges for credit unions, as well as the recovering housing market, recent improvements in the labor market and solid consumer confidence statistics.

The second segment features J. Owen Cole Jr., director of the Division of Capital and Credit Markets in the Office of Examination and Insurance, who discussed the proposed derivatives rule.

In May, the NCUA Board proposed the rule which would allow well-managed credit unions with more than $250 million in assets to invest in simple derivatives that include interest rate swaps and caps.

The expanded investment authority intends to help credit unions manage interest rate risk. The NCUA has posted a Q&A on the proposed rule online.